


Open WiFi, Missing Students

by Pongo0614



Series: Investigations [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Episode AU: s07e07 The Bells of Saint John, Missing Persons, Missing Students, Police AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-03-27 21:39:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 21,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13889652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pongo0614/pseuds/Pongo0614
Summary: When Clara started investigating a missing student from the school she worked at, she never expected to gain another job … or meet an alien. [Book 1 of Investigations.]





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this whole story is going to be a little weird and it is going to be all from Clara's POV but written in third person, other than the beginning of this chapter. I plan to make this a little series (I don't know how many I want to do) but it will all depend on you guys and whether you want more from me like this.
> 
> Please enjoy this first chapter.

**Prologue**

This might seem weird but I feel duty bound to write down my experiences as have people done in the past. There are little notes at the beginning of them all to tell you, whoever is reading this, what you are more than likely going to get involved in. Believe me, get involved. You will have the best time of your life.

Just for clarification, I am Clara Oswald and the year is 2014.

I too have read the books that either you are going to read or already have read. Part of me didn't believe him when he told me who he was and what he did and I am sure you have the same attitude. Hopefully, Idris is a little more pleasant to you than she was to me.

With you reading this, I have left my position. Which is fine. Maybe from the beginning I always knew that it wasn't going to be forever.

This is my first adventure with him. This is the story of how I met the usual police detective, the Doctor, and how I became his 'companion'. I know I am the first one in a while and hopefully, with me taking the job, it will encourage both him and the MET to allow him to have more companions. When he said he can't do it on his own, he means it. He may act alien but he is as human as the rest of us. Trust me on that one.

So here is what you need to know about the Doctor and why you should accept the most awesome job offer you are ever going to receive.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

The silence of the halls were both soothing and creepy. During the day, they are filled with chatter and laughter but as the moon shone down the darkened hallways, the only thing breaking the silence was the typing on the keyboard.

Finding the silence soothing, Clara typed away as quickly as she could. She had decided to work late at the school rather than go home to finish off her marking and planning for the next day. There were some days where she just found it easier working later. There were too many distractions at home and she had already had to put back when a class were going to get back their essays. She needed to do them tonight as well as create some sort of aid to give them back. It wasn't fair to the students.

She stopped typing as she heard the noise. She waited for a few moments, wondering whether who or whatever it was would make it again. She returned to typing but stopped again when the noise repeated itself. She slowly got out of her chair and made her way to the door.

She took a deep breath before she opened the door. The light from her classroom only lit up part of the hallway. She looked down both ways before trying to reassure herself that it was nothing.

"Miss Oswald."

Clara jumped at the voice and grabbed her chest as she tried to get her breathing under control. "Atif, you scared me."

The caretaker looked a little timid. She smiled at him to show that it was okay.

"Sorry Miss, I didn't realise that you were still here."

"Just finishing up some marking. I won't be much longer."

"I would be careful. Not to scare you or anything but things haven't been the same recently. There have been a few weird going ons. Just thought I would warn you, Miss. Wouldn't want anything happening to you."

"Thank you, Atif."

Clara gave him another smile before closing her classroom door. She tried to bat away what he had said but the weird going ons was something that just wouldn't leave her. She closed the lid of her laptop and started to put it away, knowing that now she wouldn't be able to do anything more. As she walked through the corridors, Clara kept looking over her shoulder, trying to work out what Atif could be on about. It was only when she reached her motorbike that she could only give reference to something strange.

A man, standing in the middle of the gateway, staring at her.

She didn't get a good look at him before he scurried away. She tried to shake it off as she got on her motorbike and left the school grounds.

* * *

The weird going ons and the strange man hadn't left Clara's thoughts as she entered the school the next day. Something just felt weird and she couldn't just shake off the feeling. She tried to smile as she made her way through the corridors to her classroom but she was certain that the worried look she left her flat with this morning was still on her face.

"Miss Oswald."

"April, how may I help you?" Clara said as she stopped.

"It is just about the essay that you set. I was just wondering whether you had any suggestions for wider reading that could be done to help me support my points."

"Of course. Send me an email and I will send you some links."

"Miss, is everything okay?"

Clara knew that April was clever and her fake smile wasn't going to fool her. But if she was being honest, everything was okay. Nothing weird had happened just as yet and last night was the first time that she had seen that man. It was just her overthinking things.

"I'm fine." She said as the bell sounded.

She smiled at April before telling her that they should both be getting to their classes. She took a deep breath before she entered her classroom. She sounded good morning over the chatter and by the time she had placed her bag down by her desk and logged onto the computer, the class had settled down and everyone was in their seats. She brought up the register and started to call out their names while said here when they heard their names.

"Bradley," Clara said. She waited for a reply before she repeated his name.

"He was here earlier Miss."

Clara placed him as absent but noted to ask reception. Maybe he went home after not feeling well. She knew Bradley. Even if he was one of the most disruptive children in her classes, she knew that he was a good person deep down and he always turned up to lessons. He was never one to skive.

It played on her mind as she taught her class as well did the other thoughts that had plagued her since last night. She didn't want to link it all and she felt stupid thinking that there was a link, but there was just something that didn't feel right.

She left with the last of the class as they left her class to go to the next. She knew that she had a few moments to go and ask reception. She smiled that the woman behind the desk.

"Has Bradley's parents called in? Bradley from year eight. He is one of the gifted and talented group."

"I haven't this morning. Do you wish for me to call them?"

Clara hesitated for a moment. She didn't want to get the poor boy into any trouble but with everything playing on her mind, she knew she had to say something.

"Please do. Just someone mentioned that they had seen him earlier. I just want to make sure that everything is alright."

"Will do."

Maybe if Clara hadn't had so many thought rushing around her mind, she would have been paying more attention. But as she made her way back to her classroom, she missed a student talking about open WiFi. Maybe if she had, the investigation wouldn't have gone on for so long.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

It had been a week since Bradley's questionable absence, which had now turned into a missing person's case. The fact that he had left the house and meet with friends to walk to school and had been seen on the school premise but never made it to his first class made it a police matter and to the sounds of things, it wasn't the only case. Clara had searched the internet and there had been a few students that had gone missing in the area over the last couple of weeks.

When the email came around about a potential another missing student case, she stared at her computer for a while in some sort of daze. The problem was the student in question. She was certain that she had seen her earlier. Actually, her friend had stopped Clara earlier to speak to her and the student had called out to her friend telling her that they were going to be late for their class.

She left her classroom, with the task of getting herself a cup of tea. Something weird was going on and she couldn't shake the feeling. She had seen that man every day this week but couldn't see who he was. He would always stand in the shadows and she didn't know whether he was eyeing up her or the school. She wondered whether she should report him but without a description, she felt like she would be wasting police time, especially with all the missing students.

Clara knew that she had zoned out again when she hadn't noticed Adrian next to her or that fact that he had been talking until he gave her a friendly nudge with his shoulder.

"Penny for your thoughts. As I have just told you the best gossip I have heard for a while and you haven't reacted and you are still stirring the tea that you have been stirring since I came into the staffroom and I have now managed to make a cup of tea for myself."

She looked down at the cup before tapping the spoon against the inside of the mug and placing it next to the sink. She picked up her mug and turned so she could lean against the worktop.

"There is a new missing student but I am so sure I saw her this morning."

"Who is it?"

"Emily Martinez."

"Really? She is in my form. She was there this morning. I know because I had to tell her on five different occasions to shut up in a matter of twenty minutes. She and her friends were talking about the new open WiFi that the school now has. Apparently, it is a godsend. They can access everything. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, basically everything that the school computers have blocked so we can actually get them to do some work."

"No wonder my classes haven't been concentrating."

"I am going to mention it to the headmaster. The reason we have the school WiFi is so that it is only accessible by the computers provided by the school and maybe a few of the teachers' own personal laptops but that is it. It is there to stop the disruption that this open WiFi is causing."

"It must be opened by the students. I don't think the tech guys would make an open WiFi spot for the students."

"I don't know. Hopefully, it can be shut down soon."

Clara allowed Adrian to go but she wanted to tell him that something felt wrong. Everything that had happened over the last week had just felt wrong. She hoped that she wasn't the only person who had that feeling. She sighed as the bell rang and she knew that she would have to make her way back to her classroom. It wouldn't stop the feeling she had or her thoughts, but things had to carry on.

* * *

Clara didn't stay as late she usually would do but she stayed late enough to get a glimpse of the mystery man. She had waited for a good half an hour by her motorbike for him to make his appearance. He was easily six foot tall wearing a long coat with what looked like suit trousers and boots. He managed to still be able to hide his face in the shadows.

She tried to move in the shadows as well but he was faster. She watched him run down the road. He had a weird run that she was sure that she could have caught up with him if she hadn't stopped.

"Everything okay miss?"

Clara turned around and smiled that the police officer. "Yeah, I have just seen him hanging around. I just wanted to know who he was."

"Don't worry yourself. He is just a nuisance. I will make sure that he stays away."

She wanted to argue that she didn't want him to stay away but she thought it best just to allow the police officer to carry on with his job. She wanted to know who this man was or why he was hanging around the school. She didn't think that he was there to cause any harm. He looked like he was trying to work something out. Maybe he had the same weird feeling that she had.

She walked back to her motorbike and placed on her helmet. As she got to the gates, she thought about going the way that the man did but instead turned towards home. Part of her hoped that soon she would find out who the man was. If he had the same weird feeling as she did, he might allow her to approach him about it.

As she finally returned home and sank down into her sofa, she felt like there was more that she could do to help out, maybe even stop some of her own thoughts. She looked at her laptop and wondered whether she could potentially link up to the open WiFi on it. She knew that she would have to try soon. Instead of grabbing her laptop, she grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. She needed something to take her mind off this whole missing students thing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Over the next month, more students had gone missing. Some of them had left home and never seemed to make it to school. Some had seemingly left school but never made it home. Then there was the handful that had disappeared during the school day.

The only problem that Clara had was that she was sure it was something to do with the recently opened open WiFi but she knew that she would sound like an idiot. It had taken her a few days to get us to her thought. She hadn't completely worked out how the students were being taken by the WiFi. She had a theory that they had been sucked into their phones but it wasn't like any phones had been found or handed into lost property. She had asked.

She pulled her bag closer to her as she walked through the crowded corridors. She tried to keep her laptop as safe as she could as she made her way to her classroom. She knew that she would have to somehow prove her crazy theory before she went to the police with it.

She sighed as she dropped into her chair behind her desk. She knew that she would have to wait for the madness to calm down before she even tried to make her way to the staffroom for her morning tea. She sighed as she logged into her school computer and looked at her timetable for the day. She groaned as she saw that she had been automatically put as cover for one of the RE teachers, forgetting that she agreed to cover lessons if they were short. She knew that the lesson would be planned for her but it meant that she had a full day of lessons.

She huffed, realising that her plan of trying to connect her laptop to the open WiFi wouldn't be done during the day unless she tried to do it in her lunch break, which didn't appeal to her at all. She would have to stay after school for a little while.

She pushed herself out of her chair before picking up her bag to place it in one of the cupboards. It would be a safe place to put her laptop for the moment. After she had done that, she braved the corridors to go and get her morning tea before her first lesson started.

* * *

Clara sat in her dark classroom. The only light was coming from the screen of her laptop. She could feel her eyes starting to burn at the strain she was putting on them but she didn't want to leave her seat to put on the light. She had the internet tab of her laptop open and was watching it intently, making sure she was ready for when this open WiFi finally opened up for her.

She knew that she was one of the last in the school. She knew that she shouldn't really be there. The headmaster had asked them to put a stop to their late night sessions in the school, making sure that the teachers went home not long after the students. Planned meetings were fine but not what she was doing.

She knew that the students were part of a generation that had grown up with technology and was not addicted to their phones and social media. As Adrian had said, there was a reason that there were restrictions on the school's internet and why they had the rules that they did. Some people may have made their money on social media but she knew that most of her students wouldn't be that lucky. They wouldn't be the next big thing on YouTube or be Instagram famous. They would be lucky to get a job if they carry on being distracted.

Clara knew that the tech guys had been on the job of attempting to take down the open WiFi but couldn't find the source of it. She pretended that she knew exactly what they were telling her about it but she hadn't understood a word.

Her interest was brought back to her computer and she sat up a little straighter when the weirdly named open WiFi finally showed up on her laptop. She hesitantly moved her mouse to hover over it. She didn't know whether she should join it or not. Would she disappear straight away or would it take a while?

She took a few deep breaths. "Come on Oswald."

Clara clicked to join the WiFi and then closed her eyes, unsure about what was going to happen. She only opened her eyes again when she heard a bang. She was quite relieved to find herself still sitting in her chair in her classroom. She let out a deep sigh before turning towards the door when she heard the bang again.

"Atif. Is that you?" She called out cautiously as she walked towards the door.

She opened the door and looked down the corridor. Everything seemed quiet and still until the bang sounded again. She left the safety of her classroom and made her way towards the noise.

"Atif? I know I shouldn't be here. I know what the headmaster said, but I can't stop thinking about what you said to me. About the weird going ons."

She knew that it was probably her cue to turn around, grab her things and leave. She would find out about it tomorrow for sure. She knew that the darkness made everything scarier. She didn't know whether she wanted her curiosity to overcome her fear or not.

With another bang as she turned her back, she knew that she just had to investigate what that noise was. It seemed like it wanted her to investigate where it was coming from or what it was. Her steps slowed down as her breathing became more erratic.

"Be brave Oswald." She muttered to herself.

She knew that she was heading in the right direction when the noise got louder. She raised her hand to push on the door that she thought the noise was coming from when she was scared out of her skin by one sentence.

"What are you doing here?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"What are you doing here?"

Clara jumped as the voice scared her and the noise. The noise she was following stopped and she slowly turned around to see two police officers standing there, pointing torches at her.

"I was just finishing off some marking and lost track of time." She explained.

"The headmaster told us that he had told his teachers and students that they weren't allowed to hang around the school grounds not long after the last bell."

"I concentrate better here. You know, there are so many distractions at home nowadays. I usually just want to get home and chill out and then the next thing I know it is like 10, 11 o'clock at night and I haven't even started any of my marking. You must feel like that as well."

"Still, students are going missing and it is probably best for everyone to leave together."

"It's the open WiFi taking them." Clara spat out.

The two police officers stared at her before looking at each other and laughing. She wanted to be angry at them but the longer they laughed, the less angry she got and in the end, she ended up laughing along with them. Of course, she was being ridiculous. How would open WiFi take people?

"Oh, that is the best thing I have heard for a long time." One of the police officers said.

"Just because you can make a good joke, doesn't mean that you get out of a telling off. This is a place of interest. That is the reason we want you not here during non-school hours. We have a job to do and we can't do it when everyone is here."

"Come on, we will take you back to your classroom for you to collect your things and then we will get you home safely."

Clara nodded as she took the first few steps to get ahead of them to lead them to her classroom. She couldn't shake the feeling that she had been ridiculous. All the thought that she had over the last couple of weeks had been wrong. Of course, it wasn't the WiFi. How could it be the WiFi?

"For Christ's sake, what the hell are you doing here?"

She looked up at the floor to see the man in the shadows walking towards them. She knew she was definitely right about his height and what he was wearing. It was a relief to finally see him close up. He was older than she was expecting him to be. His grey hair showed off his age more than the wrinkles on his face, although the grumpy look didn't help.

"Doing your job." He said in a Scottish voice.

She didn't have him down as a Scot but the accent suited him well. Actually, he was nothing like she had built in her mind but she was glad that he had finally shown himself to her.

"Doing our job? I would like to remind you that you have already been asked to leave the school alone on three different occasions. This isn't your case."

"I don't care. Yes, I am doing your job for you." He said as he stopped in front of them. "I am actually doing some investigating like..." He turned to her.

"Clara. Clara Oswald."

"Like Clara is doing." He continued. "What have you found out about the open WiFi?"

"I thought that you were doing our job."

"Just answer the question."

The two officers looked at each other before one of the sighed.

"It is just an open hotspot. Something that some kid has opened up so that they have unrestricted access to the internet. It is nothing."

The other officer started to giggle. "Unless you ask her. She thinks that it is taking the missing students."

The two officers started laughing again but Clara didn't this time. The look that the strange man was giving her was one of intrigue. It was like he believed her somehow, like what she had said made some sense. The intrigue turned into something else like he was trying to work out who she was or what type of person she was. She didn't feel comfortable under his gaze and was glad when he turned back to the two police officers.

"Okay. If you think it is nothing, then it is nothing. But I am taking Clara."

"But..."

"But what?" The man said. "I know what you are about to say but I want to test her theory. I mean it is a totally plausible theory in my line of work."

"I forget what you dabble in. Take her if you want. We were only going to make sure that she got home safe but this is a one-off. I see you talking to her again, I will tell the commissioner. He won't be happy about that now will he."

"I work alone anyway." The Scot said. "Come on Clara and bring your laptop."

Clara followed the Scot and called out to him when they reached her classroom. When he didn't stop, she huffed before she gathered up her things. She thought about placing her laptop in her bag but instead held in close to her chest as she left her classroom. She left the building to see the Scot sitting in a car parked right outside the door.

"Get in." He said to her.

She wasted no time in opening the passenger door and slipping into the seat. She placed her bag and marking in the footwell before placing the laptop on her lap. She closed the door and reached for her seatbelt. He didn't even wait for her to click her seatbelt before he sped off, out of the school gates. Clara just about managed to do her seatbelt before she grabbed onto her laptop.

Maybe she shouldn't have just got into a car with a random man that she had seen watching the school a number of times but he had been a part of her life for the last month or so. Was it wrong that she wanted to know exactly who he was and why the police knew him so well?


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The Scot had finally slowed down and was sticking to the speed limit but Clara still felt rather uncomfortable in the passenger seat of the 1960s Ford Anglia that he was driving. She still had no idea who he was or whether she should have gone with him. She held her laptop close to her chest.

"Am I in trouble?" She asked.

He quickly turned to her before looking back at the road. They sat in silence for a few moments and she wondered whether he was going to answer her question or not. She sank back down into the seat.

"No. Not with me anyway. The detective in charge of the investigation might not be too happy. Especially when he hears that I turn up." He paused. "I will take the brunt of it for you. I will tell them that I asked you to do some investigating for me. It's not like I haven't been hanging around the school or anything like they know. Thanks for that by the way."

"For what?"

"For telling the police officer I had been hanging around the school. I have you know that I was close to solving it before you stuck your nose in and I was told to stay away from the investigation."

Clara was taken aback by his tone. "Maybe you shouldn't be hanging around in the shadows. Or run away like some criminal when I tried to approach you."

"You were the only one to notice."

"Was I?"

She watched him as he swallowed. "I have been doing this job for a while now and the only people that have paid attention to what I was doing is the police, just because they have to. But you, Clara Oswald, you have stood by your motorbike and watched me as I try and work out what is happening. You're not meant to do that."

"Are you part of the police?"

He turned and glanced at her again. "Sort of. I will explain more when we get back to the TARDIS."

"Sorry, the what?"

* * *

Clara still held the laptop close to her chest as she stood there, looking up at a little Victorian house. The outside was beautiful and she knew that she could stand there and admire the workmanship that went into the property. The only thing that confused her was the size. The house was part of a terrace of houses, so she didn't expect it to be large inside. But if it was just the weird man, who was sort of the police, was living there, it probably didn't matter. She could imagine that it only had one room per floor. She hoped that the inside looked like the same as the outside.

She followed slowly behind him as he ran up to the blue door and unlocked it. He left it slightly open as disappeared into the house. She pushed open the door properly and her breath was taken away. The hallway was much bigger than she anticipated and she couldn't help but admire the wonderful Victorian staircase that took up half of it.

"Master, you are home."

She turned to see a robot dog, which the man patted his head like the dog was a real one.

"I said I wouldn't be long. The woman is Clara. I have invited her here."

"Good evening." The dog said to her.

Clara just smiled at the dog before she took in the large reception room just off the hallway. She wanted to go back outside to take another look at the house. She was certain that the reception room would be where the house next door would be.

"Come on Clara." The man said.

She shook her head and followed him down a few stairs to reach the kitchen. There they were met by a woman, who looked like she was glowing. She turned and smiled widely at the man.

"You are home. I wasn't expecting you back so soon."

"Unfortunately tonight's investigating got cut short. This is Clara." He turned to her. "Clara, this is Idris."

"Hi," Clara said, still feeling a little overwhelmed by everything.

"Are you hungry?" The man asked.

"Yes. Haven't eaten since lunch."

"Good, Idris usually makes too much."

"I am used to cooking for more than just one. Like this house is meant to be more than just you." Idris argued.

"Not my fault." He said as he held his hands up. He started to walk off.

"Wait, you haven't introduced yourself yet," Clara said.

He stopped and turned to her. He had one of his eyebrows raised and he looked like he was still trying to work her out. His hardened gaze soften. She thought that she might finally some answers as he sighed and dropped his shoulders.

"It isn't important who I am. After tonight, it won't matter who I am. You shouldn't know who I am. You shouldn't know about the TARDIS." He chuckled. "You shouldn't even be here. But you saw me and even if I am only allowed this one night to be off the record, then there is no point in getting bogged down in the details of my name."

She opened her mouth to say something but he had already ducked through the door, out of the kitchen. She had no idea what she was meant to do. Currently, she was in a house that she shouldn't know about, being introduced to people that she shouldn't know about, with a man that she knew nothing about other than his outward appearance. Again, she hugged her laptop close to her chest.

"I would go after him."

She turned to Idris. "Can you tell me what the stars is going on?"

"I can't. Only he can tell you. But he is right. You have one night and you aren't going to get that much out of him. Just help him with this investigation so that he can find the answer as quickly as he possibly can so that he can stop going to that school. Then you will stop seeing him and he will go on to the next case and forget about you."

Clara was taken aback by Idris tone. She just nodded at the woman before following the man through the door. She shouldn't be there.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"I shouldn't be here," Clara said as the man held out his hand for her laptop.

"Now you question it."

"Well, I wouldn't have questioned it if you hadn't told me that I shouldn't be here. I don't know. I just got caught up in it what has happened tonight and I just wanted to know who you was. I mean, you could be anyone. Just because you are sort of the police, doesn't mean anything really."

He sighed as he dropped into a chair. "You're right. I could be anyone."

He reached inside his jacket and took out a wallet. He opened it up and threw it down on the table. Clara took a few steps and placed her laptop down on the table. She picked up the wallet and looked at it. The photo was him, saying that he worked for the MET but her brow creased in confusion as she looked at his name.

"Your name is the Doctor."

"It wasn't at one point. I took the role of the Doctor and that meant that I had to change my name to it. Legally, I am the Doctor. Look, there is a secret branch of the MET. It is only a secret because of all the panic it would cause if we were more public about what we do. I am part of the Unidentified Department or UNIT for short. We, well I, investigate everything to do with..." He stopped himself.

She could tell that he was apprehensive to tell her. She thought that she might know what he was about to say but part of her needed the confirmation that she was on the right lines.

"You can tell me. I am not going to tell anyone."

"I investigate everything to with anything alien."

She blinked at him a couple of times before she realised that she did actually hear what he said. It was what she thought when he said the Unidentified Department. Her thoughts were racing again. She knew that she could just babble about aliens and how they aren't real or anything.

"Are you an alien?" She asked calmly.

"Would it make it easier if I was?"

"I… don't know."

The Doctor smiled at her. "I can assure you that I am as human as you are. At times it might not seem like it but I haven't always lived this life. I had a normal upbringing in Glasgow before, like you, I saw something or someone that I shouldn't have. I was just in the wrong place at the right time, sort of thing. Or I was just where the universe wanted me to be at the point in time."

"So you are a bit like Dirk Gently?"

"Who?"

"Dirk Gently. It is a TV show and a book. About a holistic detective." She explained just to get a blank look for him. "The 'Everything is connected' guy. Okay, never mind. So you do believe me when I said that the students were being taken by the WiFi."

"Of course. Why wouldn't I? I think exactly the same thing."

"Alien WiFi."

"Maybe not that far but there is definitely something weird about all the open WiFi that has opened up over the last few months in schools all over London and the rise in missing student cases."

"It is connected."

"Like your 'everything is connected' guy. You have joined that open WiFi network haven't you?"

Clara looked at her laptop. "Yes, I… I just felt like I had to get some evidence before I went to the police with it. I was scared that I wouldn't be taken seriously like I was."

She handed him her laptop and watched him as he opened the lid.

"Actually could I just close a few things first." She said. "And I don't think you want to look at my browsing history."

"Clara, I am only trying to work out how the open WiFi works."

She calmed down slightly before taking the seat in front of her. The Doctor started to tap away but slowly a grin rose up on his face.

"What's that smile for?"

"You actually googled weird men in suit trousers standing outside the school I work at and police nuisances."

"I only wanted to know who you were. And you said that you were only trying to work out how the open WiFi works."

"You mentioned your browsing history. Oh, Clara Oswald."

It seemed like he was going to carry on talking but instead remained silent. She tried to think over what had been said in the short time that she had been in his company but there was nothing that she could think of as to why he would be acting so weird. Idris had said that she was used to cooking for more and that the house was built to hold more people.

Maybe she was right when she mentioned Dirk Gently and that the show said that everything connected. The Doctor had mentioned that he had seen someone or something that got him this job, like her. Maybe there was something that this meeting was meant to happen. She was meant to help him out. Maybe he wasn't meant to do this alone.

Clara wouldn't work out till later how right that thought was. It would take a second trip to the TARDIS for her to venture further and find out so many more answers. But for tonight, she sat there and watched the Doctor as he started to work his magic.

"I was following a noise when those police officers found me." She said, quickly remembering.

"What noise?"

"I don't know really how to describe it. It was just a noise. I thought that it might be the caretaker but it seemed like it was something more than that."

"When did you hear the noise?"

"Just after… I joined the open WiFi."

"I think we might have just found our link. I had this other crazy theory but what if you join the WiFi and then hear a noise. A noise that won't go away until you found the source. Getting louder and louder. I might be more plausible than what I was thinking."

"That the students were being taken through the screen of their phones." She said. "Yes, I have had that thought as well but no phone in lost property."

"Clara Oswald, if only." He muttered.

She was sure that they would make a great if they had the chance.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The Doctor had proceeded to plug certain other gadgets into her laptop in some hope that he could work out where the WiFi was coming from and what they could do about it.

"Do you think that you can get them back from wherever they are?" Clara asked.

He smiled widely at her as he checked the latest device that he had placed into her laptop. "I would have thought that you would have been happy to see the back of some of her pupils."

She thought carefully about her answer. She wanted all of her students to do well as they could, whether they were the best or worst in the class.

"Some of them might be a pain in the backside but I would never want this to happen to them. Them having a sick day is like a big 'yes' moment but this. I hate this. I am just waiting for them to turn up now. I want them back in my classroom. I want to be telling them off either for talking or not doing the work or just for being on their phones when they shouldn't be."

She looked up at him when he hadn't said anything. He had stopped what he was doing, looking at her and smiling. She was still trying to work out what his personality was but she felt like he had already worked out hers and it might have been due to what she had just said.

"Why are you smile at me like that?" She asked.

"You must be a good teacher."

"I don't know about that. I just have a duty of care over them and I take it rather seriously."

"Most teachers would have been happy to see the back of some pupils."

"As you have implied."

"Writing them off as no good of nothing. You are right. You do have a duty of care to those students. You care about your job. You must do if you think that everyone deserves a chance."

"I am trying to get the point you are trying to make."

He smiled, almost bashfully. "I wish I had a teacher like you when I was at school. Someone who wouldn't give up on me. I was one of those smart-arse kids who always had an answer for everything and would usually be right about everything. There was one point that I made it my mission to prove each teacher in my school wrong. It didn't end well. I did it but I also got kicked out of school."

"We have someone like that. She once tried to say that she was a bigger Jane Austin fan than me. I probably shouldn't have risen to the challenge but I was new and I wanted to show some authority. I would never expect a quiz made up of Jane Austin questions would have excited so many students as it did. Fortunately for me, it worked out in my favour and I won the quiz. I think I wouldn't still be at Coal Hill if I hadn't.

"Why teaching?"

"Why being sort of the police?" She asked back straight away.

He laughed. "You are good."

"Honestly, I know but that doesn't answer my question. I will answer yours if you answer mine."

"I am a sort of police officer."

She shook her head at him. "Come on. You haven't arrested me so I feel like we are having a conversation rather than you investigating me. You can answer my questions."

"I didn't choose the job." The Doctor said after a few moments of silence. "The job choose me. Like I said, I saw something that I shouldn't have and that made me eligible for the role. I became the new Doctor after the last one died. There was a short period when there wasn't a Doctor. They weren't going to hire anyone else and going to shut the division down. The other police officers just turn a blind eye to anything alien. Apparently, everything has a perfectly logical explanation other than it is aliens."

"So when you die, someone else will take over the role."

"Hopefully and hopefully they will have blast with the job as well." He cleared his throat and went back to the laptop. "Anyway, why teaching teach?"

"I did a degree in English. I wanted to go travelling at the end of uni but my stepmother had stopped my dad from helping me finance the trip. I ended up taking a nanny job with a family friend and when the mum died, I suppose I felt like I should stay to help out. I lost my mum and I knew how they felt. I was then told by my stepmother that I couldn't be a nanny for the rest of my life and it was time for me to get a proper job. So I turned to teaching, maybe with the goal in mind that maybe I could inspire students like my English teacher had inspired me."

"I would expect that you inspire your students."

"You don't see their bored faces."

"As I said, you must be a good teacher."

She felt like they were having a moment. She was waiting for a question that she was sure that would never come. This was, after all, a one night only thing. Plus she had her job at the school. She couldn't give that up after speaking so passionately about it. He wasn't about to ask her if she wanted to join him. It just wasn't going to happen. She tried to dismiss the thought but it wouldn't leave her.

He swore under his breath just before the computer started to bleep. She stood up quickly and walked behind him, to look over his shoulder. The screen was full of things that she didn't understand along with those weird symbols that the WiFi was called. She knew that she shouldn't panic but she couldn't think of anything else that she could do.

"What is going on?" She asked.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"What is going on?" She asked.

The Doctor ignored her at first. He began typing quickly. She couldn't really understand what he was doing but remained a silent party while he tried to work out what was happening.

"Whoever is taking the students know what I am trying to do." He said, finally answering her.

"What were you trying to do?"

"Trying to hack their system. I just wanted to see whether I could find out where they were or where the students were now. Or at the very least, just try and find out who is behind all of this. If I have an idea about who is behind this, I might have an idea about how we are going to stop them."

"We?"

"Sorry?"

"You said how we are going to stop them."

"I meant how I am going to stop them. I mean you will have contributed by allowing me using your laptop."

"Shouldn't you be concentrating on what is happening?"

"Probably. Because they are trying to find our location and..."

"And?"

"And I think they are trying to get hold of you."

"Me?"

"You were the one to join the network."

"Couldn't we?"

"No. I know what you are thinking and it might sound like a good idea but it probably isn't. We would only work out how it would somehow take you through the screen but I would then have no way of tracing you or the signal or anything. You would be stuck there and wouldn't be able to help me."

"So how do we stop it?"

"I don't know. Clara, for once, I don't know."

"What would happen if we just turned it off?"

The Doctor turned and looked at her weirdly. She saw on the screen that the download was 80% done and couldn't take the risk that it would rise. She leant over him and pressed the power button until the screen went black. They both stared blankly at the screen.

"Do you think that has worked?" She said as he closed the lid.

"I hope."

"So do I."

Clara realised how close they were. She was in a weird house, with a weird man that she had only just met, and one of the first thoughts that she had at that moment was that he was incredibly handsome. He might be grey and have wrinkles but she could see that he had lived a life. His blue eyes held so much sadness that she wanted to make it go away. She thought about kissing him but put it down to the adrenaline.

She didn't know whether she was glad by Idris coming into the room or not. "Dinner is ready."

"Perfect." The Doctor said, standing up out of the chair.

Clara sighed loudly before she followed him. Why didn't she feel like she was getting what she should be getting from this night?

* * *

The more Clara saw of the house, the more she understood the point about the house being made for more than just one person. The rooms were an impressive size but all with a minimum of six chairs to accommodate people. She maybe thought that the person who furnished the house had something about the number six but she was under the impression now that this house was made for six people to live in. She wondered why it was just one man but she felt like she couldn't answer her question.

The Doctor was right about Idris making too much food as she saw the spread served up for them. She took the place that had been laid for her and started to tuck in as the Doctor did. She didn't realise how hungry she was until she started to eat and Idris' food was delicious.

"Would you like me to make a room up for Clara?" She said.

Clara turned to the Doctor. She would love to stay the whole night, just to work out a few things that she felt like she needed to know about him.

"No."

"It is late."

"And I am sure that after a long day at work, there is nothing that Clara would prefer than to go home and sleep in her own bed. I will drop her back after we have finished eating."

She tried to hide her disappointment but she felt like she could make her frown into a smile.

"We have finished anyway." He turned to her. "I will have to keep your laptop though. Make sure that they aren't going to attack again and that they haven't put anything on your laptop. As well as some other safeguards." He paused. "Don't worry. I won't go through your browser history."

She wants to argue but she kept her mouth shut.

* * *

"Thank you." She said as he pulled up outside her block of flats.

"I will try and get your laptop back to you as soon as I can."

"Don't worry. I really only use it for personal use."

"Still."

She held onto the door handle but she didn't want to open the door. This was the only night that she might get with the Doctor and she wanted to make the most of it.

"Doctor, why do you work alone? If that house isn't built for one person, why are you on your own?"

He chuckled. "My predecessor. That is all I can really say. I wish I could tell you more. I wish that we could have more than this night but I am in trouble just for taking you to the TARDIS." He paused. "I need you to keep it a secret. I work in the shadows. I am never seen. It is all part of the job. Just don't tell anyone."

"I won't." She said.

She watched him as he let out a sigh of relief. He was obviously worried that she would say something.

"Although, if you are standing at the gate again, can you at least say hello rather than just running away?"

"Maybe. Depends who is about."

She gave him a small smile. "See you around Doctor." She said as she finally opened the door.

"See you, Clara Oswald."

She picked up her bags and finally left the car. She walked into the building and up the stairs towards her flat. She caught that fact that he hadn't moved. She waved down to him but secretly she knew, or at least hoped, that it wouldn't be the last time that she would see him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Clara couldn't stop thinking about the Doctor and her night with him. Her class quietly got on with what she had set them to do, for a change, and she couldn't stop the thoughts from being loud. She wanted to see him again and she knew that she would because he had her laptop, but then she knew that it would be the last time that she saw him. She also suspected that she couldn't do any more of her own investigating in some chance of seeing him again. He might not be able to persuade them again.

As soon as her students started to look like they had either completed the task or were getting bored, she stood up and said that they would go through the answers. She sighed in relief as the bell rang before reminding her students about the homework that she had set earlier in the week.

She waited for the last student to leave before she made her way to the staffroom.

Clara had tried to keep her ears a little more open. She would usually pick up parts of conversations but she had no idea what could be important now. If she just had any clue as to where the students were going. She stopped when she started to hear a conversation, between students, that there was someone kidnapping the students. It seems like she hadn't been the only one to see the Doctor hanging about. Either that or they had been warned about him.

She was glad that she was looking down at the floor as she almost stepped on the phone. She picked it up and pressed the home button to try and get the screen to light up. She only wanted to know who's it was but knew that something weird was up when the same symbols that had been on her laptop screen were on the phone.

She looked around and hoped that no one had just noticed her slip the phone into her jacket pocket. It was probably something that she should hand over to the police but there was only one person that she knew that she had to give it to. The Doctor.

* * *

Clara was glad that she walked and smiled widely at the Doctor as he stood by the gate.

"I would have come in and given this to you but I am not allowed on the school grounds." He said as he handed over her laptop. "I think I have taken whatever virus the WiFi tried to put on there."

"Thank you." She said, taking it off of him.

"So..." He started.

She looked up at him an immediately knew that he did want her to help him more. He didn't want to say goodbye to her like she didn't want to say goodbye to him. This should be their last meeting. He had given her back the laptop. There was no need for them to be chatting anymore. She took a step closer to him and got the phone out of her pocket.

"I found this earlier." She muttered to him.

He took the phone off of her and flipped it over a few times. "Why are you giving this to me? I am not on this investigation, not officially."

"Because of this." She said as she lit up the screen. "It is the same symbols as the ones on my laptop."

The Doctor stared at it for a few moments. He opened his mouth to say something but was stopped by someone clearing their throat. He pocketed the phone and turned to the person.

"I thought I said that this was only a one-time thing." The police officer said.

"I was giving her back her laptop." The Doctor said.

Clara lifted up the laptop in her hands to show him.

"Fine. Now leave. I have been given strict instructions to for you not to be anywhere near the schools. This isn't your investigation and it never will be. Stay away. The word at Scotland Yard is that if you keep meddling with investigations that don't need your attention, UNIT will be shut down."

"I am going. If you hadn't interrupted, I would have said bye to Clara and left but I am only hanging about because you are being a pudding brain."

Clara couldn't stop herself from snorting. The police officer didn't look amused by that.

"You have five minutes."

She waited for the officer to go before she started to laugh more. "Pudding brain?"

"What? He is one."

"Fine, but it seems like you might now need a man or woman on the inside."

"No."

She tilted her head up at him. "Why not?"

"Because… I can't do that to you."

"I am offering."

He looked down at her, almost glaring her down. She wanted to help him and be a part of it. She had now seen too much of the investigation to just let it go. She had got involved and now she wanted to know the outcome of the investigation, even if he wasn't meant to be on the case. He wasn't going to get rid of her easily. Not now.

The Doctor obviously understood that and looked to see if anyone was about. He sighed heavily.

"Come on, no one can see you."

There was a spring in her step as she dropped into step beside him. This was it. She felt like she was definitely a part of it now. Again, it might have only been a one-time thing, but she was more grateful that she could start to shake the feeling that something was up. She would also get a proper explanation as to what happened. If he was basically working behind the scenes of each investigation, they wouldn't get a proper explanation as to what happened to the students.

She dropped into the passenger seat and turned to the Doctor. She couldn't help but think how right it was for her to be sitting by his side. He gave her a smile before he pulled away.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Clara made sure to have a good look at the front of the TARDIS as the Doctor drove past. He had already explained to her that he was going to park around the back and they were going to go in the house in the back entrance. She couldn't make out how the house seemed so big. She knew it was something that she would have to ask him about at a later stage if there was going to be a later stage.

The Doctor was a few steps ahead of her and she thought it was for good reason, as soon as she entered the house, he was deep in conversation with Idris. She could just about hear the whispers that she shouldn't be there and that he shouldn't be investigating the missing students. The Doctor was trying to reassure her that he had everything under control but Idris just kept telling him that he was in enough trouble already. Even when he showed her the phone, telling her that it screams at him that it should be his investigation, she tried to argue otherwise. Clara just got a feeling that Idris didn't like her.

"Doctor, if that is evidence, then it should be handed in. If you don't want to give it to the detective investigating then at least give it to the commissioner." Idris said, not keeping her voice low.

"Idris, they won't take it seriously. I am a joke to the MET."

"And you won't be part of the MET if you continue. You have been told, very sternly, to stay away from the case. I do not want to be programmed down. K9 will go on the scrap head and you… you will not remember a thing about what you have done. UNIT and the TARDIS is not going to be disbanded because you couldn't do as you are told. I will make sure that you will stay away. Give me the phone and take Clara home."

The Doctor grip tightened on the phone as she held her hand out.

"No. I got to do this Idris. Otherwise, they will never find those students."

Clara didn't know whether she should have followed the Doctor straight away until Idris turned to her.

"I hope you are happy now. He is going to lose more than you could ever imagine. For you."

She opened her mouth to come up with some reply but there was a part of her that thought that Idris was probably right. He wouldn't have come back to Coal Hill if he didn't have to give her back her laptop. But she thought that the Doctor had a more curious mind than that. He wasn't doing this because of her but because he had to know the answer.

* * *

Clara was quite surprised when Idris brought in a tray with two cups and a pot of tea. If anything, it was if she had read her mind. Clara could really do with a cup. Idris placed the tray down on the table before walking over the Clara.

"Just. Don't get too involved. By law, technically, you can't. But sometimes the law doesn't work. What could we charge you with? Helping a police detective?"

"Why can't I get involved?"

"Again by law, I can't tell you."

"Then why mention it?"

Idris paused for a moment. "There is only one way that you can find out. He would usually tell you but he can't. There is a bedroom upstairs. In that bedroom, there are a number of books that will answer that question. What being the Doctor is all about? Why maybe you should get involved? Why you shouldn't get involved? Maybe all the questions you have will be answered."

She didn't stick around after that and Clara didn't know what to make of how Idris was with her. Sometimes she was made to think that she didn't want her about and other times, it made her think that she wanted her around.

"Why is it called the TARDIS?"

"I don't actually know. One of the granddaughters of the first doctor chose the name and it just stuck. I think she just hoped that her grandfather's job was more exciting than it seemed."

Clara moved to make the tea, pouring out two cups and made one to her taste. She sat back into her seat and took a sip.

"Up the stairs, on the second floor. Third door on the right."

"Sorry?"

"The bedroom that Idris was on about."

Clara turned to leave the room but just managed to catch him muttering about not actually asking her yet. She made sure that she had her tea in hand as she left him with the phone. She wasn't really being a big help anyway. She allowed one of her hands to glide along the bannister as she took the stairs up. She muttered to herself about where it was as if she was going to forget. She wanted to explore how big the actual house was but didn't think it was the time or the place. She was on her way to find the books.

She pushed open the door to the room and immediately saw the bookshelf that took up the whole back wall. If anything, she felt like she was in a dream. For her, there was nothing better than a nearly full bookshelf. She walked over to it and started to browse. She took in the funny titles that had been written on a separate piece of paper and then stuck to the spine. She left the older looking ones and settled on the ones that could be more recent.

She picked up one that was called 'The Weeping Angels'. She turned back to the room to see where she could sit to read it. She took a note of the desk and chair on the wall next to where the books were and the armchair in the corner near the door. She picked up a couple more that took her fancy before making her way to the armchair.

She opened 'The Weeping Angels'. Her brow creased in confusion as she saw that it was handwritten by a Martha Jones. She looked at the other books, wondering whether they were all the same. All handwritten books about one man. She got herself comfortable in the chair before she started to read.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"So you know what I am going to ask you?"

The Doctor's voice had scared her but it also felt soothing as well. Clara couldn't put her finger on why she felt so at ease with him. She closed the third book that she had read and placed it on the side table.

"I haven't read many of them."

"I don't expect you to have read all of them. I don't think anyone has." He said as he made his way over to the chair underneath the desk.

"I might make it my goal."

He chuckled. "You would, wouldn't you Clara Oswald?"

There is was again. The feeling of ease and that her name felt natural in his Scottish voice. Not many people called her by her full name but every time he did it, it felt like a weird good.

"The Doctor, or Doctors, have never done this alone. Each investigation is always too big for just one person and one set of skills. So, in the past, they have had a companion, or two or three, to help them with their investigations. The first books were written by a journalist named Sarah Jane Smith. She started just writing down the investigations, whether they were meant to be a keepsake to her originally or for future companions I have never worked out, but she left what she had written in this room and it just spiralled from there. Every companion, from then on, has written down the investigations with their Doctor. I suppose it is a good tool to give to their successor. It gives them an insight into what this is all about.

"The reason why we could only have one night and why Idris is a little short with me is because of my predecessor. He told the MET that the Doctors would work alone when he lost his companions in the worst way possible. He had got too attached to them and he was just heartbroken when what happened, happened. Because of him, I am banned from asking you the question. Because of him, I can't have more than one day with you. Because of him…" He trailed off.

She knew what he was going to say.

_Because of him, you can't be with me. Because of him, you can't help me. Because of him, we can't be a team._

She knew that something bad must have happened for his predecessor to make that decision but she couldn't help but be angry at him. The last 24 hours had been the best of her life and she wanted it to continue. She couldn't imagine just letting it go after now knowing as much as she did. She wanted him to ask her. She wanted to join him in his investigations. But what would that mean for her normal life? Would she have to give up her teaching job?

The questions floated around her mind and brought her back down to Earth. Maybe it was best that he couldn't ask her. She couldn't give up her job.

"I think that is also why I have been told to stay away from this missing students investigation." He said after a while.

"Because I am helping you."

He sighed and looked up at her. Clara knew that he felt the same way as her. He wanted her to be in this with her. He wanted her to join his investigations. But she couldn't.

"Look, you are in it deep here now. I am not going to stop you from helping me with this investigation now. But once we have finished this investigation, you need to forget about me and everything I have told you. I know that sounds easier said than done but the alternative is far worse. I don't want to do that to you. So just forget. I will give you this investigation."

"Why would I forget? Why can't I just keep like a secret? Something that I remember and smile at from time to time."

"The information you now have will just make your life unsafe. I can protect it from you for only so long but I wouldn't be able to protect you from it forever. It would come back at it would take you. Just forget. It will be easier."

She didn't want to forget. It was like her night, she didn't want this investigation to end. The end would mean that she would have to leave him and forget about him. He would still be able to remember her and he might even check up on her from time to time. He could know everything about her but nothing about him. She didn't think that was particularly fair.

She focused on the books behind him. There were all of these stories and she wouldn't be able to put her contribution to them. She wanted her own books on those shelves.

"Ask me."

"What?"

"Ask me anyway."

"Why?"

"Because I might say no."

He snorted. "Clara Oswald, would you like to be my companion?"

"No." She said. It felt awful because it wasn't to word that she wanted to say but she knew that it was the right thing to say. She had to say no. "But ask me again after the investigation is over. Ask me again to become your companion."

"You might say no again." He said.

"Or I might say yes."

"You can't say yes."

"Look, Doctor, do you want me around or not?"

She thought that silence would seem like he was going to say no but she knew that he wasn't just trying to find the right words to say. He was studying her again. Like whether he was just making she that she was worthy of that question that he just asked her.

"I do." He paused. "I mean, I do want you around. I didn't just come up here to ask you a question that I shouldn't have asked you. I have found something interesting on the phone and you might like to see this."

Clara practically got out of her seat at the same time as him and followed him down the hallway, only keeping a few steps behind him. Maybe next time she would say yes. Just not now.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The Doctor handed her the phone before he sat down. Clara took the empty chair and looked at the phone.

"So the code is nothing that we have in our database. That will mean if it is alien, then this is a totally new species that we have never dealt with before."

"Is that a bad thing?" She asked.

"Not necessarily. It only means that we have nothing on them and that we are learning along the way but that also means that they haven't been on Earth before so they might not know how we work and our culture."

"They seem to know it enough to know to make an open WiFi spot."

"That's true. But that might on be a way so that they can learn about us as a species. I mean, it is only children that have been taken so far. Why? Because they are still developing. If you want to change the attitude of a nation or a planet, you aren't going to talk to adults are you, or take adults. You are going to take the child. It puts all sort of dread into adults and then a child appeals more if it comes with a message of hope and peace."

"Have you found out where they are?"

"Well, that has a thing to do with the code. It changed."

"The code changed."

"Light up the screen and see."

Clara turned her attention back to the phone and turned the screen on. The words 'I DON'T KNOW WHERE I AM' appeared on the screen.

"That's helpful?!" She said.

"They might not know where they are but if we go back to our theory that they are being taken through the phone or the WiFi in general, then wouldn't the device that they are taken through be the link to where they might be. I could probably get a signal from the phone but I already have a feeling I know where it will take me."

"The school."

"Which I have been told to stay away from."

"The offer is still there. I can help you out in the school if you want me to."

She watched as he contemplated her offer. It was the only way, that she could see, that they could check out any signal, was for him to accept her offer. She wanted to do it as well. She wanted to find out where the students were and she wanted to help him out. It almost made her regret asking him to ask her the question.

"Let me see if I can get a signal off of it first. Then we will talk about it. I don't want anything to look bad on you. You are a teacher and it might look bad if you are arrested."

"I don't understand why the police are so against someone helping you."

"Because they don't believe. Because they don't think that I am not worth it. I am just a drain on the MET's budget. They just need a reason to shut me down." He paused but not long enough for her to say anything. "Why don't you go and read some more of those books? I will get Idris to make you up a bed. I will be watched more now so it is probably best if you stay."

She just nodded at him, unknowing what to say.

Clara sighed as she finished another book. She knew that she shouldn't be reading more of them. It only made her want to help out the Doctor more. She knew that he was being really confusing but that was only because they couldn't do what they wanted to do. She was sure that he would have walked over to her the first time that she saw him. They might have even worked it out by now. He wants her involved but he can't allow her to get involved.

A soft knock on the door stopped her from picking up the next book. She could only smile when he poked his head around the door.

"Shall I show you to your room?"

"Yeah, sure." She said but hesitated when she stood up.

"Just make sure you replace it in the morning."

She turned to him before she picked up the book. She gave him a small smile.

"I am going to make it my task to read them all."

"What makes you think you will be back?"

"What makes you think I won't?"

He chuckled. "You are determined, Clara Oswald. I will give you that."

"Well, maybe together, we can give the MET a reason to keep you running and also allow you to have a companion. Because I feel like we have established that the normal detectives aren't going to find my students."

"This is a thankless job."

"And you think that teaching is full of thanks. I might get a couple of cards and a box of chocolates, probably whatever was on offer. Maybe a mug as well. You must get out of your job that I get out of mine. The satisfaction that you have done your best and that was all you can do."

The Doctor smiled at her. "Come on, it's late."

Clara followed him and, again, she had this overwhelming urge to join him, be his companion. She had no idea how she was meant to bury the feeling afterwards. She thanked him and wished him goodnight as he left her at the door to the room. She entered the room and smiled to see a pair of pajamas neatly laying on top of the pillow. She placed the book down on the bedside table before she quickly got changed. She rearranged the pillows before she slipped underneath the covers and picked up the book.

The book that she had chosen had been the last to be written. She didn't know whether it was a good choice due to the little that she had seemingly read, but she felt like she needed to find a reason as to why this Doctor's predecessor had decided that the Doctor would work alone. The book had been written by an Amy Pond and it was about an investigation in America with the Doctor, her husband and a woman named River Song, who was close to the Doctor. It was halfway through that the handwriting changed and the more she read, the more she understood. Amy hadn't finished writing the story. The Doctor, Amy's Doctor, had finished the story for her.

This was definitely the story that led to a Doctor swear that they would do it alone.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

It took Clara a little while to remember where she was. With the alarm on her phone still going off, she stared at the ceiling, wishing it was the weekend instead of a workday. She picked up her phone and turned off the alarm before getting up and realising that she would have to wear the same clothes that she wore yesterday. She groaned at the thought of it. The knock on the door surprised her.

"Come in."

Idris entered the room. She didn't look too happy but Clara now knew why.

"The Doctor thought that it would be best if you had some clean clothes. These are just from what people have left behind but I picked out what I thought was you. Also, breakfast will be ready shortly."

Idris dropped the clothes on the bed and left Clara to it. She huffed before she left the warmth of the bed and got changed. Even if Idris didn't like her or didn't particularly know her, she would have to admit that the clothes chosen out for her were her style. They might be a little dated in terms of fashion but the simple black skirt and patterned shirt would do for today.

After dressing, she made her way down the stairs and to the dining room where a breakfast was laid out on the table.

"Hungry?" The Doctor asked.

"Maybe not hungry enough for the food on the table but I will have a go." She said as she took a seat and pour out a cup of tea.

She could feel his eyes on her as she began to eat and it was putting her on edge. She wanted to ask him what was up but she knew that he would tell her in his own time. He placed the student's phone on the table as well as a piece of paper. He pushed it over to her.

"I managed to get a signal and I am going to allow you to help me on this one occasion. We need to find these students and quickly. We still don't know what the grand plan is in taking the students is at the moment. My number is on that piece of paper. If you get into trouble, call me straight away. If you find anything, phone me straight away. If I need to get into the school, I will find a way."

"Thank you." She said, unknowing what to say.

"Let's just find these students."

* * *

Armed with the phone and her own phone, Clara walked down the empty halls towards where the signal on the student's phone was taking her. She was glad for her free period and the fact that there was no one else around. She had no idea where in the school she was allowed to go. As a general rule, teachers could go just about anywhere on the school grounds but this might take her somewhere she shouldn't go.

She looked down at the phone as she passed a door and stopped. She looked at the door. It was the same one that she had heard the noise come from before the police officers had interrupted it. She took a deep breath before she pushed the door open. She didn't close the door all the way, just in case anything happened.

Using the torch on her own phone, she made her way down the steps into what she would suspect as the cellar of the school. There were a few boxes lying around and nothing of any significance until she heard TV static. As she got closer to the noise, she turned her torch off as the room started to light up. She turned a corner and was met with what was producing the light and noise.

A wall of TV screens.

All the screens showed a white room. Some were empty and some had the missing students in. As they slowly started to notice that someone was standing there, they ran up to the screens, screaming for Clara to help them, only what they were screaming wasn't audible.

Clara knew that for a few moments she froze. She had found them. She had found the missing students.

She knew that she should phone the Doctor straight away but pointed her phone at the TV screens and took a photo. She apologised to them before she left. She felt confident enough that she would be able to find the exit by herself that she pressed on the Doctor number and put the phone to her ear.

"I think I have found them." She said.

* * *

As a teacher, it was easier to get out of the school. With a quick smile to the receptionist and a practised line of 'I forgot lunch, just going to pop out to get some', Clara was out of the building without a question asked. She looked left and right before she crossed the road and met the Doctor, who had been hiding behind a tree.

"I thought you would be better at hiding than that." She said as she found the photo.

"I had to make sure that you would see me." He said before he took the phone off of her.

She watched him as he looked at the photo, zooming it in a couple of times. He swore before he dragged his hand through his hair. She couldn't tell whether it was what he wanted to see or not.

"Okay, I don't care how much trouble I am going to get in. I don't care if they stop the funding or what." He paused. "I need you to come with me. I need to put this in front of the commissioner. I need you to explain what you saw. Just..." He gestured towards the school.

Clara looked at her watch. "Look there is still twenty minutes left of the lesson and then it will be lunch for 50 minutes. We have over an hour. If we go now, hopefully, I can be back for after lunch."

"Then let's go." He swore again. "I am going to be in so much trouble."

Clara just shook her head as she followed him. Maybe this could be the start of her actually being able to join him in his investigations.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't remember whether I put this or not but this story is based off a book (that I still haven't finished reading) called the Rivers of London. What I have read of it is good.

**Chapter 14**

Clara was glad that the Doctor's strides had shorted slightly as she finally caught up with him as they entered Scotland Yard. He hadn't said a word to her since he had decided that they needed to talk to the commissioner about what Clara had found underneath the school. They walked through reception no problem but came up against it when they were almost at their destination.

"What the hell are you doing here? And why is she with you?"

The Doctor growled as they turned to the officer. "We need to talk to the commissioner."

"So do I it seems."

"You can do whatever you like." The Doctor said. "But we have a lead on the missing student case and nothing is going to stop us from speaking to the commissioner about it."

He turned back on his heel and Clara quickly followed him before running to catch him up. She caught mumbles about pudding brains and why people can't just allow him to do his job. Before he knocked, he turned to her.

"I will do most of the talking. I will prompt you when I want you to say something."

He gave the door four hard knocks and didn't wait for any reply as he opened the door.

"Doctor?!" The commissioner said in surprise and anger.

"We have a lead on the missing students' case." The Doctor said.

"You have been told to stay away from the case. How many times do I have to tell you, Doctor? This isn't your case and it will never be your case. We have it under control."

"No, you haven't. I know what is taking the students. I might not know who is taking them or why they are taking them or even where they are. But it is the WiFi. The WiFi is taking the students. It is my case."

The commissioners laugh echoed around the room and the Doctor didn't look amused as he waited for him to stop.

"The WiFi?" The commissioner questioned.

"There have been a number of WiFi hotspots, open WiFi, that have opened up in schools for students to be able to join so that they can have unlimited access while at school. They unwilling join a network which, we think, produces a noise or something that leads the students somewhere where they are taken." He handed over the phone. "Clara found this phone and it had the same weird symbolises that the WiFi is called was all over the screen before it changed to a sentence. I don't know where I am. From that, I got a signal, which Clara agreed to follow for me."

Clara realised that was her cue to start talking.

"I entered the cellar of the school and by following the signal, I was lead to a number of television screens." She said as she got the photo up on her phone. "There are the faces of the missing students but I think whoever or whatever is doing this wants more. There were just under half of the screens with someone in them."

With the other phone in his hand, the commissioner looked over at the photo that Clara had up on her phone. She couldn't tell whether he was shocked by her find or just plain angry that the Doctor was involved in this.

"Why wasn't this phone handed to us?"

"I told her not to." The Doctor said before Clara could say anything. "She was going to hand it in. She was actually almost to one of the police officers on the case when I pulled her over to one side. I asked her also to check the signal out for me. Clara's involvement in all this is my fault. But this needs looking into rather than being dismissed. I need a search warrant."

The Commissioner sighed loudly. "Doctor. I know you mean well."

"Yes."

"But I can't allow this. You won't be getting a search warrant. You can take Clara back to the school but this will be the last time that you will see her. Look, Doctor, you have put yourself in a worst position that you were in before. I was fully prepared to fight to keep UNIT open but I don't think I can. This isn't your investigation and it won't be. This isn't alien." He turned towards her. "And you Clara Oswald. I don't know what I can say to you. If the Doctor had stuck to his one night, then I wouldn't be in the position that I am in now."

"With all due respect," Clara said. "The Doctor is taking more blame than he should. I was the one to see him. I was the one that couldn't get him off my mind. I was the one that wanted more than one night with him. I was the one that offered to help him out. It isn't all his fault. He hasn't forced me to do anything that I have done. I have wanted to do it. I know that it isn't right what we have done but can't we just have this one investigation together? He can't ask me to join him and I can't give up the job that I have to join him. Just one investigation. Please."

The Commissioner sighed loudly again.

"No warrant. That is final." He paused. "But I will allow you this  _one_ investigation. The team leading this will have the information that you have just given me and will be heading the warrant to search this cellar. You both are welcome to come along and see but obviously, I would assume that Clara would have work to do."

Clara turned and looked at her watch. "Well, if we go back now, I can at least start my class and hope that I can quickly ask Adrian to just mind them. I really want to know now."

"I will meet the team there." The Doctor said.

She felt like she had a spring in her step as they walked back down the halls. She had this investigation with him now. The only problem was that it felt like the bulk of the investigation had been done now.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Clara opened her door just as the Doctor past. It felt like it was just fate that she was meant to open the door at the right time. She jogged for a few paces before falling into step with him. She looked behind them to see that the team was following them.

"I thought that you weren't heading the search warrant. I thought we were just tagging along."

"Officially I am not. But none of them know where we are going. So technically, unofficially, you are leading it."

Clara looked behind her again before taking a few steps in front of him. She took them in the same direction that she had headed only an hour ago. She ignored the headmaster when he marched down the corridor and demanded what was going on. She heard a police officer start to explain what was happening. It wasn't long before she was faced with the door.

Two police officers pushed past her and held up their torches as they entered the room. Clara moved before the Doctor and was the next down the stairs. He fell into step with her as they walked in the dark. She could feel that something was different. She couldn't hear the static or see that the room was getting any lighter. She turned in the dark to the Doctor and she was certain that he shared her expression. She guided them around the corner that the television screens had been.

"I swear to you, they were here," Clara said as she started to see the annoyed faces of the police officers.

There was this whirling sound and she turned to see the Doctor with some weird light in his hand.

"Which wall?" He asked.

Clara pointed to the wall to her right and watched him move to that wall before the blue light and whirling noise started again.

"Doctor! This is a waste of time and police resources!" One of the police officers said.

"I believe Clara when she said that those television screens were down here." The Doctor replied.

"I bet this was some scheme so that you could get this investigation. You have been hanging around like a bad smell for far too long."

"Shut up and give me a chance."

Clara stood there, with some hope that the device in the Doctor's hand would reveal the television screens. She didn't want to be seen as wrong. She didn't want this to reflect badly on the Doctor. She didn't want to be seen to be wasting police time. Like the boy who cried wolf. It would just reflect badly on both of them.

With the Doctor's head drop, she knew that he wouldn't be able to give them proof that something had been there. He lifted his head up to the police officers.

"Sorry boys and girls." He said before he turned back to the wall.

"That's it!"

"They were here. Clara has a photo of them being here but whatever is doing this knew that we were coming. So either it was placed here to peak a curiosity or Clara wasn't meant to see it."

Clara felt like he had more to say but either didn't feel like saying it in front of them or was still thinking it over. With that, they all huffed before moving out of the cellar. She got her phone out as the light vanished. One of the called back to say that they had half an hour before the Doctor needed to be off the premise. With that everything went silent and Clara allowed the Doctor to be the first to speak.

"You know the noise theory." He said.

"Yes."

"Well, I think that might be possible. You logged onto the WiFi and then you saw the television screens. None of them have been on the WiFi and I have only been on it on your laptop. What if you can only see the screens due to the WiFi?"

"Is that the train of thought that we are going down?"

"Yes."

"So if I came back down here, in an hour or so, on my own, the television screens might be there?"

"Possibly."

Clara nodded at him. "I am not going to do that."

"Obviously."

"I mean, I could but what if I get sucked into one of the screens."

"I know."

"I would be no use to you then."

"Clara, I honestly don't know what to do next."

The sigh he gave afterwards just showed how much this investigation was taking out of him. Clara was certain that he had aged just in the few minutes that they had been down in the cellar. The point wasn't about the screens not being there, it was about who was behind it. Clara was certain that the Doctor always liked to be one step ahead of the game and at the moment he wasn't.

"Look, there is no point us staying down here. There is only one more class of the day and then it is home time. Why don't you go to the cafe around the corner while I go and teach my last class of the day? I will catch you up and we can discuss a few things over a cup of tea or coffee."

He turned back to the wall before sighing loudly again.

"Come on then Clara Oswald." He said as he turned away from the wall and started walking towards the exit.

Clara stood there for a few moments before she moved to follow him. She was easily a few paces behind him but the faint sound of television static started and she knew that their second theory might just be correct.

* * *

Clara had done a lot in her day but she knew that it wasn't over yet. As she wished the class a good evening, she collected all her things together to go and meet the Doctor. She placed all her marking in the canvas tote bag she brought with her as well as making sure that everything was in her handbag. She turned her head as she noticed her laptop.

She debated with herself before she picked it up and placed it in the tote bag. She needed to take it home anyway but maybe it would just help them out a little bit more.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Clara smiled at the Doctor as she dropped into the seat opposite him. He picked up a cup and placed it in front of her. She wrapped her hands around the mug and took a sip.

"What are we going to do now?"

The Doctor dragged a hand through his hair. "I can only think of two different options and I don't like either of them."

"What are they?"

"Give up or give them you."

"Doctor, we can't give up."

"And I can't give you up to an alien that I have no idea who they are or what they want. I can't let you risk it. I don't want to give up but there might be more to this. I can't protect you if I don't know where you are."

Clara sighed and slumped into her chair. "I've brought my laptop."

"Clara..."

"Surely you must be able to get more information off a laptop than off a phone."

"Clara..."

"They are my students."

"Clara, I know. I know that you want to find them and that you want to get them back but there is no way that I am going to allow you to risk your life. Clara, please, trust me. I will come up with something eventually. I just need time to think."

"I just can't be doing this any more Doctor. I can't wait around for the next email to tell me who has gone missing next."

"I understand that."

"It is just frustrating," Clara said.

She knew that he must be frustrated as well. They probably both had high hopes for the television screens that she had found. Even if it just proved that they should be on the case. It gave them hope and it also helped them to say that they were along the right lines or that they were onto something.

"I say we should sleep on it. You should probably go home and get your marking done and I will need to talk Idris into our way of thinking about our one investigation. I mean, there isn't much she can do now other than help out more and get the investigation over with quickly."

"I might want to find my students, but I don't want the investigation to be over quickly. I feel like I have only just got to know you."

"Clara, I don't think that you will ever know me."

She gave him a smile. Maybe she would never know who he was truly but she felt like she knew what she had seen of him and she loved it. If she was being completely crazy, she thought, at that moment, that she was falling in love with him. She took in his greying hair and the wrinkles and the fact that he was definitely older than her and it didn't matter to her. He was beautiful and it took Clara a while to shake the thought.

"Let's sleep on it." She said, trying to distract herself.

* * *

Clara had spent her first class wondering whether the weird noise that she was hearing was one of the student's phone. When it continued into her second class of the day, she thought that it was her own phone, so turned it off. But the noise still persisted, and seemingly got louder.

She resorted to turning back on her phone and placing her earphones in, with music blasting from them, during her free period to stop the noise. She knew that it could only mean one thing but she knew she had to resist it.

She pulled the earphones out of her ears and picked up her phone. Her thumb hovered over the Doctor's number before she pressed it. She didn't want to disturb him but she couldn't deal with this anymore.

" _Clara."_

"I think our second theory about the noise is right."

" _Why?"_

"Because I have been hearing this noise all day and it is driving me crazy. I haven't investigated it yet because of what you said yesterday."

" _I am on my way."_

"Doctor, you have no idea how annoying it is."

" _Clara, just stay exactly where you are. I am going to get to you."_

"I don't plan on moving or being taken by some weird aliens."

" _Good. Give me ten minutes and then I will be with you."_

Clara found herself getting out of her chair, not on her own accord. She knew that she let out a surprised yelp when the Doctor's voice changed.

" _Clara?"_

"Doctor, you might want to come a little faster. Do you know an alien that can hack humans? Because I feel like I have been hacked."

" _Your laptop. Think about everything that you have ever googled on it. Think about all the emails you have received. All the websites that you have placed that email into. Whether you just use one or have a number. Clara that is all you. But this wasn't just downloading that. I think, now obviously, that when it was trying to hack your computer, it wasn't just trying to find out where you were. It was trying to download you onto the database. They want you, Clara. Not your information. You should have never joined that open network."_

Clara tried to stop herself from opening the door to her classroom. "I know that now."

" _I know about computers. Obviously, there are soft and hard resets but what if that is what the WiFi does. It does like a soft download. It picks the victim and then sort of downloads their brain to gain control. Now they need to do a hard download. They need you and the students to do that."_

"Quick question," She said as she failed to stop herself opening the door. "Do people feel better once they have spoken to you?"

" _I don't know. Why?"_

"Look Doctor. I have my phone and you have my number. I give you permission to go through my bag to get my keys if you need my laptop. Just save me from this. Okay? Promise me you will save me and my students."

" _I will do my best."_

"Just don't follow me," Clara said before the phone dropped out of her hand as she took the steps down into the cellar of the school.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Clara groaned as she awoke. The floor was hard underneath her and the white room only blinded her as she tried to see where she now was. There was a small sound of static in the background but the room was just a blinding white. She knew that she would get used to it but she hoped the Doctor would come soon as she continued to squint.

Once her eyes got used to the light, she looked around more. It was just the white room. She noted that one of the walls were was more grey than white. She didn't know where she was or where she even could be. She couldn't really remember anything from when she spoke to the Doctor on the phone. She couldn't even remember the whole conversation.

She knew that she would have to sit tight until the Doctor could get to her. She could only hope that he could solve where she was quicker than the other progress that they had made.

* * *

Clara didn't know what she could do. She sat with her back against the wall, looking at the grey wall. She couldn't tell why it was a different colour but she hoped something would just happen soon. It was boring and she had no idea where the Doctor was or what he was doing.

So when the woman appeared suddenly, Clara didn't know how to react. She smiled widely as it seemed like she would have some company but it dropped when she realised that it was only a projection. The woman's body jolted out of place before forming her body again. It took a few moments for the projection to get itself right before the woman spoke.

"Clara Oswald. 27 years 4 months 25 days old. Originally from Blackpool. Current residence. The Powell Estate, Peckham, London. Occupation. Secondary English Teacher. Father, David Oswald. Mother, Ellie Oswald, deceased."

Clara didn't know whether to be worried or not by the amount of information that they had about her, although she slowly realised that all of the information could be gathered about her online. If she didn't want to keep in contact with the few friends she had back in Blackpool or her university friends, she briefly thought about deleting her Facebook account.

"Okay?" She said, unknowing of what else to say.

"Clara Oswald. Welcome to the Great Intelligence. This a database of species to help with the greater understanding of the different races of the universe. You have been categories under  _Earthling_. Please do not fear. We at the Great Intelligence value your input." The woman said, her voice changing to a generic computerised voice when saying Earthling.

"What?"

"At the Great Intelligence, we enter species into your database so that we can analyse them. Once we have analysed them, then we have a better understanding of the species."

"How many earthlings do you have?"

"We have  _232 Earthlings_ in the database."

232 people were in the database for the Doctor to save. And she was one of them.

She knew that she would have to find a way to communicate that to the Doctor but she had no idea how she was going to do that just yet. She knew that she would have to wait for the projection to go but that was really the least of her worries.

As the woman flickered before leaving, Clara wondered whether she could somehow hack the database. If everything was connected through the WiFi, there must be a way for Clara not only to get a message to the Doctor but also her location or the location of the Great Intelligence.

She stood up and walked over to the different coloured wall. If she failed to hack the database, she wondered whether she could leave a message there.

* * *

Clara had her eyes shut as she tried to visualise her laptop. She had left a message on the different colour wall with the whiteboard maker that she was glad was still in her pocket. But she had no idea whether the Doctor would get that message.

She opened her eyes briefly and looked at the backwards message that read 'DOCTOR. IT IS THE GREAT INTELLIGENCE. 232 PEOPLE. PLEASE HELP US.' She hoped that she could leave a similar one of her laptop at the very least. She wanted to leave the same message on every electronic device that was linked up to the WiFi.

She closed her eyes again and imagined her laptop on her desk at the school. She placed her fingers were she imagined the keys to be before she started to type. She wrote the same message that she had written on the wall as best she could. If anything she just wanted to get the message of the Great Intelligence to the Doctor. It might actually mean something to him.

In her mind, she felt like something was happening. She felt like she was typing that message out and the more she believed it was happening, the more certain she felt like she had actually been able to do it. Her suspicion that she had done it was met with the woman standing in front of her again when she opened her eyes.

"Specimen 232. Clara Oswald." The woman said.

"Yes?"

The woman looked down at her rather than just keeping her head at one height. "We regret to inform you that you are not a suitable specimen to place in the database."

"What does that mean?"

"Like any experiment. If a specimen is unsuitable for that experiment, the specimen is destroyed and the cell holding the specimen will be decontaminated. We thank you for your contribution. Starting the termination of specimen 232."

Clara started to panic. She had no idea what her termination would mean exactly and to her, it didn't seem good but she couldn't think of anything to say to stop it from happening. She stood up but immediately regretted it. She started to feel light headed and soon enough she was back sitting on the floor. She took a few deep breaths to try and stop the feeling of the room spinning around her but it did very little. As she rested her head on the floor, she tried to remain conscious in some hope that the Doctor would save her but failed as her eyes closed.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

The sound of the alarm blaring woke Clara. She reached out from underneath the covers and hit it until it stopped bleeping. She knew that she probably had hit the snooze button rather than turning it off and took those few extra minutes to bury herself back into her covers.

Instead of falling back asleep or just dozing, Clara opened her eyes wide and sat up to find herself back safe in her bedroom. She remembered everything about the white room and the message that she tried to get to the Doctor and the fact that she was going to be terminated.

A smile rose on her lips.

The Doctor must have got her message.

She pulled back the covers and ran out of the room, returning quickly to turn off her alarm properly, into her living room. When there was no sign of the Doctor, she walked into the kitchen to see it empty. She couldn't hide her disappointment that he wasn't there to make sure that she was alright. She walked over to the kettle and turned it on. She turned to lean against the worktop and thought about the last few days.

There was a big chance that this investigation was now over and that could only mean one thing. She was never going to see the Doctor again.

She hoped that she wouldn't still have to forget about him. She wanted to cherish her one and only investigation with the Doctor. It would be upsetting for her to do all that work and have to forget about it all.

Once the kettle had boiled, she made herself a cup of tea before she took it back to her bedroom to get changed, quickly checking her phone for the date to make sure it was a school day. It was Monday which either meant that she had been in the Great Intelligence database for four days or it had taken her a while to recover from whatever had happened to her. Obviously, without the Doctor, she had very little answers to her questions. As she finished getting herself ready and grabbing her keys, she couldn't help but wonder whether or not she would ever see the Doctor again.

* * *

The corridors were full of chatter as Clara walked into the school and she couldn't help but smile as she recognised a few of the faces of the 'missing' students. The Doctor had done it. He had found a way to save them all. She smiled all the way to her classroom and then to the staffroom as a number of students wished her a good morning.

The Headmaster gave a quick low down on the police report. The open WiFi gave a location which the students followed and got taken. The person behind it has been arrested. He even pointed towards Clara and said that it was good to have her back. She couldn't do anything else but smile as the rest of the teachers turned towards her.

There was just something different about the day and with another cup of tea in her hands, she felt like there would be nothing that would spoil her mood, even when Adrian asked where she had been.

"I don't really know what happened."

"Clara, you were missing for four days."

"And I am glad I am back. Hopefully, things will get back to normal."

"Everyone was worried."

Clara turned and smiled at him. "I wish I could tell you more but I felt like I was in some sort of daze and I really don't know what happened. If anything, I would love to read the police report about what happened to see if I can fill some gaps."

"I think everyone was emailed the police report. By everyone, I mean the teachers. I think there were a few people who wanted to know what had happened. It will be in your emails."

"I will make sure I will have a look when I get a free moment," Clara said as they reached her classroom. "Now if you excuse me, I have a class to teach."

Adrian nodded at her. "So do I. Oh, there is a plan to get together for a quick drink after work if you are up for it."

Clara thought about it for a few moments. "Yeah, I am up for it."

"Great." He said before leaving her to it.

She smiled widely before she pushed on the classroom door and said good morning to her first class of the day.

* * *

Clara stopped as she went to leave the school. She could feel the sea of students leaving around her but nothing matter other than the man standing by the school gate. The Doctor leant against the gate kicking at something imaginary on the floor. He was just as beautiful as she remembered him being. It took her a while to get out of her daydream and walk over to him.

"Hey." She said.

"Hey." He said, before pausing. "Good. You are okay."

"You should have stuck around."

"I might be a part of the police that the MET doesn't want but I still have to do their boring paperwork. Do you know how many forms I had to fill out just on your kidnapping? Which I still don't approve of."

"I didn't want to be kidnapped."

"No, I suppose you didn't."

The Doctor looked at her and she knew the next words that were going to fall from his lips. There was a part of her that wanted to hear them. Her answer was already on her lips.

"Clara Oswald, would you like to be my companion?"

"I thought you weren't allowed to ask me that question."

"You said to ask you again after the investigation had closed."

"And I said that I might say yes."

"Well?"

"Well, what?" She said, teasing him slightly.

He chuckled. "Well, would you like to be my companion?"

She smiled at him before giving him her answer.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

"So, what happened?" Clara asked.

The Doctor turned to her before looking back at the road. "What is the official line?"

"That the WiFi sent it's users a location and sort of, curiosity killed the cat, sort of thing. But I doubt that was what happened."

"I don't know how much you remember."

"I remember being in the white room and the woman and stuff about the Great Intelligence. I also remember being terminated."

He chuckled. "Then you know what happened."

"But still."

"The Great Intelligence is something that the Doctors have seen before. Not on the scale that it was just now but the Great Intelligence had a more sinister role then rather than just collecting specimens for a database. So the user would log on to the WiFi and basically give over their conscious to the Great Intelligence. Basically, what I said, they had done a slow soft download of you. They got all your memories and thoughts and could then build a profile of you. Then once they had that profile, they could then do a hard download, e.i. take you. I haven't worked out how they got you from the school and into the screens but they had the technology to do that. What happened was you hack the system and they didn't like it. Luckily by that point, I had got your message and got to their office in the Shard before they could terminate you. And yes, it sounds as bad as it does."

"I am glad you saved me when you did."

"You, Clara Oswald, are brilliant. It took them a while to work out that it was you just due to the fact that it was you. Basically, everyone was linked in a sort of hive. So they had to just try and find the source that was giving out the information, giving me time to work out how to get you out."

"All I knew was I had to get the information to you."

"I guessed that. You are impossible, Clara Oswald. My impossible girl."

She couldn't stop herself from blushing. Her phone started to ring and Clara had realised that she had forgotten about the drink with the other teachers. She picked up the phone.

"Adrian, hi. I know what I said but something has come up." She turned to the Doctor. "Look, I will see you tomorrow. Yeah. See you tomorrow."

She looked at her phone as it changed to the hang-up screen. She felt bad now but she knew that she had totally made the right choice when she said yes to being the Doctor's companion.

* * *

The Commissioner took a book off the shelf before he sat back down in his seat. He placed his hands together before resting them on top of the book.

"I have to ask you this before we continue. Clara, you do understand what it is to be a companion, don't you?"

"I believe so. I am there to aid the Doctor."

The Commissioner looked between them before he opened the book. The Doctor stood up and gestured for Clara to follow him. She apprehensively got out of the seat. The Commissioner turned the book around for the Doctor to see.

"All you need to do is to say that you agree. Do you, Clara Oswald, of Blackpool, swear to be true to our sovereign Queen and her heirs. Well and truly serve your Doctor and help whenever is needed. This is the oath of the Companion. To swear to this will mean that our work must go unappreciated and unheard. The secret of the Doctor is now yours and yours never to say."

There was something weirdly poetic in the way that the Doctor said it and it took Clara a moment to realise that she was meant to say something.

"I swear. I swear to be true to our sovereign and her heirs. I swear to truly serve and help my Doctor. I swear to keep the oath of the Companion. I swear to keep the secret of the Doctor."

The small smile that the Doctor gave her reflected the way that she felt inside. She was happy. Even if she would have to fit the investigations around her other job as a teacher, she knew that this was one of the most exciting things that would ever happen to her. She knew that from the moment she met the Doctor that she belonged by his side. There was no doubt about that.

"I will notify the rest of the officers. The solo reign of the Doctor is over. The Doctor now has a Companion."

"Thank you," Clara said.

"I should be the one thanking you. Because of all your work, we found those students. You risked your life and we have to award that. The Doctor does need someone by his side and when he asked me whether I would consider taking you on as part of the police force, as part of UNIT, there was no reason for me to say no."

She smiled at him before turning to follow the Doctor.

"Just one thing Clara." The Commissioner said. "Look after him. He might have Idris looking out for him but he needs someone who he will listen to. He doesn't need keeping out of trouble or anything like that. Trouble does usually find him. He needs looking after from himself. Make sure he is the Doctor at all times." He held a small book out to her. "That will properly explain what it is to be a Companion and what it is for him to be a Doctor."

Clara took the few steps to take the book from him before giving him another smile. She knew that she had much to learn about the Doctor but this was only the beginning of their journey together. As she turned back to the Doctor, she knew that he was thinking the same as her.

Their meeting was no coincidence. This was meant to be.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

There was an air of excitement when the returned to the TARDIS. The Doctor was like a child high on sugar as he made his way through the house. Clara couldn't help but smile at the way that he was acting. She hoped that she would see more of this side of him rather than the serious side from now on. She was his companion after all.

It was only when K9 came up to them that the weight of her decision hit.

"Master, Mistress."

"I've just taken on another job." She said.

"Yeah and the TARDIS can always be your home." The Doctor said.

"But I have a full-time job already."

"I know."

"This will be like a hobby."

He chuckled. "Clara, don't worry. I don't expect you to give up your teaching job. In fact, I don't want you to. I want you to keep it. As for your flat, the TARDIS will always be open to you. You can come and go as you please. My investigations are like the MET's investigations. They aren't always constant. You will have plenty of time to both teach and help me."

She let out a sigh of relief as he had read her train of thought and answered all the questions that she had.

"I could always ask the aliens to wait for the school holidays." He joked.

It was a really awful joke but it made her laugh anyway. The way his face lit up was priceless and Clara again knew that she had made the right decision. Idris came around the corner.

"Does this mean that I will have to make a permanent room for Clara?"

There was a change in tone that Clara liked. Maybe Idris didn't like her but there was hope that things could be changed between them. She would just have to give her time. Plus, Clara could now be here more often to allow Idris to get to know her.

"Yes, you will."

The Doctor smiled widely at her and Clara knew that everything was going to be okay. She just couldn't wait for her first proper investigation to start.

"So how quickly might we get our first case?" Clara asked.

* * *

**Epilogue**

So there is a hope that by this point, you, the reader, have decided that you will say yes to the Doctor when he asked you the question as I am sure he will do or already has done. Believe me, you want to say yes to him.

This is only one of many adventures that we will have and as I write this, I am hoping for my second. The Doctor told me that they aren't frequent but I am itching to get started already. I want to start this. I want to see what being a proper Companion is all about. Although, I am not saying that I wasn't a proper Companion for the WiFi case. I just felt like I was on the sidelines a bit.

Just say yes. Let the Doctor into your life.

Coincidence is a thing and it is a coincidence that you met the Doctor and that you are now in the TARDIS. But this is a good coincidence.

* * *

Clara sighed loudly as she finished up. She turned to the bookshelf and knew that her book would join the ranks of those before her. The newest story in the long line of books before her. She reread her last line before she made sure the ink was dry before she closed it. She sat back as she wondered what she was going to call it. Knowing that she would have to join the trend and place a title on the side. She smiled as she thought of the simplest thing.

_**Open WiFi, Missing Students by Clara Oswald** _

She stuck the piece of paper on the side of the book before she got up and placed it on the shelf. The book stood out as a new story but she hoped that with time, it would end up looking like the others. The door opened and she turned to see the Doctor.

"You've finished it then." He said as he moved to stand next to her.

"Yes, finally joined the hall of fame."

He chuckled. "Hall of fame. I suppose that is how it can be seen."

She tapped his hand as he went to reach for it. "No peeking, it is for my successor. Or you can read it when I am gone. Just not while I am here."

"You have only just started and you are already thinking about leaving."

"I know from what I have read that this isn't forever. If it was, there would be more than a handful of books by the same person. This bookcase would be full. The whole room would just be filled with books. This is a snippet of what it is to be a companion."

"You don't have to tell your story."

"No, I have to contribute. This is a tradition like you must have a tradition for the Doctor's. This is our contribution to your world. Please don't read, not until I am gone. I think I may have written it a little too personal."

"Well, it is a good thing that I might have something that could distract us."

"Tell me more." She said as he started to move out of the room.

"It might be nothing but I have a sneaky suspicion that something is off about it."

"Yeah, well, tell me more. I am your companion after all."

The Doctor turned back to her. "This is all new to me as well. I have never had a companion."

"We will learn together what my role is going to be. We have a few things to sort out."

"Glad I have got something to test the water with." He said. "There is this new restaurant in town and I think I know who has set it up. At the moment, it will just be surveillance but we will see where it leads. Might also lead to some undercover work."

"Sounds exciting."

He turned and smiled at her. "I am glad you are up for it."

"Doctor, I am always going to be up for it."

There was a spring in Clara's step as she walked behind the Doctor. This was there first proper case together and she couldn't wait to get her teeth into it. Becoming a companion was the best decision she had ever made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the last chapter. Thank you for all of your support.
> 
> This has been left open-ended(ish) for a reason. I do plan to do more stories like this and make it into a series of books. That is if you want more. Please leave a quick review if you do want more. The next in this line won't be my next story to upload but it will be the one after that.
> 
> My next story will be Car Share and it will be up on Sunday. If I get the first chapter written.


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